Extraction of Ionized Nanosilver by Emulsion Liquid Membrane Using Cyanex 302 as a Mobile Carrier

Abstract

Nowadays, nanosilver is increasingly used in various fields such as consumer products and medicinal application. The ionization of nanosilver in wash water inhibits the beneficial bacterial growth that damages the cell due to their toxicity effect. Therefore, the removal of ionized nanosilver is greatly required in order to protect the environment especially from the aquatic organism. One of the promising techniques is an emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process. In this study, the emulsion liquid membrane process is conducted to treat wash water containing nanosilver. The process has been carried out in a batch process using a mixer-settler, and silver ion concentration is measured using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The membrane phase consists of kerosene as a diluent, Cyanex 302 as an extractant, Span 80 as a surfactant, and a H2SO4 solution as a stripping agent. The activity of sulfur-containing extractant (Cyanex 302) toward facilitating the transport of nanosilver ion from wash water through an emulsion liquid membrane has been studied. The optimum condition was established by investigating the effect of Cyanex 302 concentrations, extraction time, and agitation speed. The results showed that almost 70 % of ionized nanosilver was extracted from the simulated wash water. The highest removal of ionized nanosilver was achieved at the concentration of 0.05 M Cyanex 302, 15 min of extraction time, and 150 rpm of agitation speed. Consequently, Cyanex 302 possesses a high potential as a mobile carrier in the extraction of ionized nanosilver from wash water.